Registration of a marriage under the Hindu Marriage Act cannot by itself confer legal validity if the mandatory customary rites and ceremonies have not been performed, the Gujarat High Court has ruled, stressing that a Hindu marriage is "not merely an occasion for song and dance."
In a June 23 judgment, a division bench of Justices Ilesh Vora and RT Vachhani held that the performance of essential ceremonies, including saptapadi (the seven sacred steps around the fire), forms the foundation of a valid Hindu marriage. The order was made available on Monday.
The court delivered the ruling while allowing an appeal by a UK-based man who challenged a family court's refusal to declare an alleged marriage void.
The appellant claimed he had never solemnised a marriage with the respondent, never performed any Hindu marriage rites, and had never lived with her as husband and wife. He further alleged that his signatures on marriage-related documents had been obtained fraudulently and without his free consent.
According to the court, the respondent herself had admitted before the family court that no marriage ceremonies had taken place and that the parties had never shared a marital relationship. Despite this, the family court dismissed the man's petition.
Setting aside that order, the High Court held that the family court had overlooked the absence of the essential legal requirements for a valid Hindu marriage.
Referring to Section 7 of the Hindu Marriage Act, the bench said a Hindu marriage must be solemnised in accordance with customary rites and ceremonies. Where saptapadi is part of the applicable custom, the marriage becomes complete and binding only upon the couple taking seven steps together before the sacred fire.
"Since no marriage rites and ceremonies were performed, the basic and essential requirement of a Hindu marriage is absent in the present case," the court observed.
The bench reiterated that under Hindu law, marriage is regarded as a sacrament and forms the foundation of a family. It said the institution carries deep social and spiritual significance and cannot be reduced to a ceremonial celebration or a commercial arrangement.
Describing marriage as "a solemn and foundational event," the court said it creates a lifelong, dignified, equal and consensual union between two individuals. It also urged young people to understand the sanctity of marriage before entering into it.
The court further observed that customary marriage ceremonies, despite varying across regions and communities, are believed to purify and transform an individual's spiritual being and remain central to the concept of a Hindu marriage.
(With inputs from PTI)
